Dec 18 2008
More bad fathers — looking for a pattern — part 2 (Hurley’s father)
The story of Hurley’s father, who is played by Cheech Marin of Cheech and Chong, fits very well into the theory of the bad fathers. Hurley’s father deserted his family for 17 years, returning only when Hurley won the lottery.
My theory is that what the bad fathers take away from their children, the Island gives back. And it holds true here.
Remember the scene from Season 3 where Hurley finds an old VW bus on the Island, and gets behind the wheel? Here’s the clip (it’s from the Tricia Tanaka is Dead episode):
It’s significant that when Hurley and Charlie safely reach the bottom of the hill, the radio in the VW bus suddenly starts playing Shambala, the same song that the radio was playing when Hurley’s father left him. (A detail, by the way, that I picked up while browsing through the excellent resource Lostpedia.)
Hurley, laughing ecstatically at the end of the scene, seems to have overcome not only the pain of his father’s desertion, but also, at least for the moment, the curse of the numbers.
The fathers take away, and the Island restores — and then the Island gives even more.
Next: Charles Widmore — the baddest father of them all?
